MTN Subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited Begins Operations

Following the final approval for a Payment Service Bank (PSB) licence granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MTN Nigeria’s fintech subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) Limited has formally commenced operations on Thursday.

In a statement signed by MTN’s Spokesman, Funso Aina, the development followed a successful pilot initiated on 16 May 2022, in commemoration of the launch of the Telcos GSM operations on 16 May 2001 and listing by introduction on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on 16 May 2019.

According to the statement, “A market activation took place on Thursday at Oke-Arin market in Marina, Lagos, where traders were shown how to open a MoMo wallet, by simply dialling *671# on any network, send money to any mobile phone in the country as well as buy airtime/data and pay bills.

“In addition to delivering a wide range of digitised payment services aimed at removing the friction from everyday payment by digitising cash payment, MoMo wallets in the future will also enable account holders  to receive inbound remittance from any country in the world, an important feature given Nigeria’s ranking as the destination for the highest remittance inflow in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“With an expansive agent network  of over 166,000 active agents and digitized partnership infrastructure, MoMo PSB is poised to enable millions of unbanked and underserved Nigerians to access a wide range of  financial service product.

“MoMo PSB will scale its agent network to reach Nigerians across the country, providing a wide range of payment services, and remove friction from everyday payment by digitising cash payment.”

In his own view, CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola explained that, “We are grateful to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their support and guidance through the process.

“This is an important milestone for MTN Nigeria in our mission to support the delivery of financial services to everyone in Nigeria. Not just those in urban centres and markets, but also people in the rural and remote areas of the country who remain excluded from the financial system.”

MoMo PSB CEO, Usoro Usoro also added that, “Providing easy to use, accessible and affordable financial services to all Nigerians is essential to executing the CBN’s financial inclusion strategy and the digital inclusion agenda of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. We look forward to playing our part and are excited about the opportunities to partner with relevant institutions across various sectors to co-create and expand access nationwide.”

The Iyaloja of Ifedapo Market, Oke Arin, Mrs. Fausat Akinolu after sending money through her MoMo Wallet said, “I just sent money to my friend, Iya Ibeji, using just her phone number and the process was seamless. MoMo PSB is indeed better than cash and I want everyone to know that they can just dial *671# to open their own wallet.”

Recall that the CBN introduced PSB to cater to financially excluded communities. MoMo PSB was granted final approval by the CBN in April